As the Sunday Times readers may know, the ‘official’ war memorial, now known as the Cenotaph, was unveiled in October 1923 on Galle Face Green by the then Governor Sir William Manning. It was subsequently relocated, during World War II, to its present site at Viharamahadevi Park (then known as Victoria Park).

But this more modest and discreet gravestone in Kanatte was formally dedicated four years earlier than the Cenotaph’s original unveiling. The Victory Tower (as the official monument was initially known) contains 450 names of the men, and one woman, who made the supreme sacrifice for ‘King and Empire’ in the Great War. Everyone who had a connection to Ceylon, including two sons of the Governor at the time, is listed in strict alphabetical order – a notable gesture in the colonial context.

The Kanatte memorial, on the other hand, contains far fewer names – only 48. They are ordered first by rank, with Major R.E. Krickenbeck heading the list, and Private J.H.A. Krause the last and in what appears to be the order of their passing.

Much of the story of the Kanatte memorial seems lost in time. We do not know who decided to build it, how the names were chosen, nor the emotions behind the initiative. The gravestone is largely forgotten and does not feature in any of the ceremonies that are held to honour the war dead. This writer chanced upon a reference to it while researching another topic. But finding the actual monument took some effort as most of the staff at the sprawling General Cemetery had no idea what it was or where it is situated. Finally, we located it just by the main gate at the Bullers Road (Bauddhaloka Mawatha) end. Sadly, it was badly neglected, and a clean-up had to be paid for (in cash of course) by us.

The man behind it all

The original funding for this memorial was accomplished by a gentleman splendidly named Sperling Tweedale Wootler. Mr. Wootler seemed an interesting character; the son of an Englishman Charles Nixon Wootler and Laura Edith De Kretser, of the well-known Dutch Burgher family, he was a journalist at the Ceylon Independent newspaper. His interest in the patriots from Ceylon is obvious as he had researched and published a volume entitled ‘Young Ceylon in War Service’ in 1916. The pamphlet was updated in two more editions in 1918 and 1919, at the request of “several school principals”.

The most prominent boys’ schools in the island, Royal College, Colombo, S. Thomas’ College Mt. Lavinia and Trinity College, Kandy produced many volunteers, as did St Joseph’s College, Colombo and Kingswood College, Kandy.

The mayor paid tribute to Wootler’s efforts at the unveiling ceremony, but for some unknown reason the main organiser was not present.

Details lost in time

Despite much research, this writer has not been able to establish a number of key facts about the memorial.

The most puzzling is, who selected these particular honourees? More than 400 of the names inscribed on the Cenotaph are omitted here. Who made the decision that only these 48 young men were ‘Ceylonese’? According to a contemporary report in the August 21, 1919 edition of the Ceylon Daily News, which covered the unveiling ceremony, an ‘Organising Committee’ was responsible. The article offered no further details: no list of names, no governing criteria, no insight into how the selections were made. The identities and deliberations of this committee remain, to this day, shrouded in mystery. Unfortunately, Mr. Wootler’s book is not available so we cannot compare the two.

‘Ceylonese’ without a doubt

What is clear however, is that the inscribed names are definitely those of young men with deep roots in Ceylon. Major Ronald Edward Krickenbeek (also spelt Kriekenbeek and Koiekenbeek in other sources) for example, traced his line to a Dutchman who arrived in the island as far back as 1659. Educated in Jersey, one of the Channel Islands, he joined the Indian Army and served in China during the so-called ‘Boxer Rebellion’. He was reported missing during the Battle of Beit Eissa, in what was then called Mesopotamia, while fighting against Ottoman Turkish forces. Major Kriekenbeek is buried in the war cemetery in Al Basrah, Iraq.

Cecil George Loos, a Lieutenant in the Worcestershire Regiment, was the first Ceylonese to die in the Great War, killed in March 1915 and buried in Belgium. Corporal Aiyadurai from Jaffna was an old boy of Trinity College, one of many from that school who volunteered. Frank Drieberg, also from TCK, was in the same unit as my grandfather Richard Aluwihare and three other lads from Kandy, ‘Jick’ Rudra, Richard and Albert Halangoda were fortunate to survive the carnage of the Somme, unlike Frank.

The final name is that of J.H.A. Krause, a private in the 8th Battalion of the Border Regiment who died of his wounds in the UK and is interred in Plymouth. Krause had been with the Ceylon Police before volunteering to fight in the Great War and passed away in October 1918, only a few weeks before Armistice Day on November 11th, 1918, so was chronologically the last Ceylonese to die in the war.

The list goes on, including names from every community of the island. Each name bears a captivating story, but space restricts me from elucidating further.

Suffice it to say that this shows the great diversity of Ceylon and that young men from every community were united in their desire to represent their country in faraway battles, during a war which posed no immediate threat to their home.

The depth of loss is perhaps reflected by the fact that this memorial was raised in honour of their sacrifice less than a year after the guns were silenced. In an era where the pace of life was so much slower, this was a remarkably rapid response. Kudos to those members of the public who accomplished this memorial, modest though it may be.

Rest in peace, boys – you are not forgotten.

 

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